by Jeffrey Ober

Created on: January 12, 2010

The Nordic Combined event originated in the 1800s in Norway, when skiers joined together for athletic competitions involving endurance and strength. These games joined the Olympics in 1924 at the first winter Olympic games in Chamonix, France. Since 1988 this has been a pursuit race, where the first competitor to reach the finish line wins – only after completing a ski jump and a 15 kilometer cross-country race.

This event begins with a ski jump off an Olympic size “normal” or large hill. The actual size of this hill varies with each Olympic event and venue. Skiers ski down the hill near 100 kph and launch themselves into the air. They are scored on two different scales, one score for distance and one score for style in the air. The current traditional style in the air is a “V” style where the skis will appear from the ground to be in the shape of the letter “V.” This position and other body positions are designed to maximize lift while reducing drag as much as possible. The skier then attempts to land in a telemark position, with their feet spread, but keeping their balance.

After the ski jump, the competitors in the Nordic Combined event head to the cross-country course. The delay between the ski jumping event and the cross-country portion will be between 30 minutes and a few hours. The cross-country course is a 10 kilometer course which usually consists of four 2.5 kilometer laps.

The competitor with the highest score in the ski jump starts the cross-country race first. Each other competitor will start after that person, depending on their score on the ski jump. For each 1 point behind the leader, the competitor will have a 4 second disadvantage in the cross-country race. The first of the competitors to finish the 10 kilometer race wins the overall Nordic Combined event.

There is also a team Nordic Combined event where four athletes work together to compete. In the team format, the score of all the athletes is added up in the ski jumping event to compute a team total. The team with the highest total goes first in the cross-country event. Each other team is delayed for one second for each point they were behind in the ski jumping event. Each team of four is required to ski five kilometers, and the first team to cross the finish line is the winner of the event.

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